I'm Alan Alda, and this is clear and vivid conversations about connecting and communicating.

To me, that would mean that there is lots of life out there.

It would really mean that our galaxy is teeming with

life because, you know, there is this zero one infinity principle, namely either things are so rare

that they never happen. They are very rare, so it happened once. If they happen more than once, then they happen many, many times.

So it would mean that there is lots of life in our universe.

That's Mario Livio talking about the possibility of life on other planets.

He's an astrophysicist, and for 24 years he worked with the Hubble Space Telescope

at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is where I met him last when we were

filming an episode of the PBS series Scientific American Frontiers.

He's written eight best-selling books, including his most recent, which is called His Earth Exceptional,

The Quest for Cosmic Life.

He co-authored it with Origin of Life Expert and Nobel Prize winner, Jack Shostack.

Mario, it's great to see you again.

We talked the last time, I don't know if you remember, almost 25 years ago.

Of course I remember. I'm surprised that you remember.

I mean, of course I would remember.

It's not every day that I talk to Alan Alda.

I'm glad that we are still both alive.

I really like the fact that we're talking again almost 25 years later

because so much has changed in your view of the universe, hasn't it?

Right.

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